Finals week is upon us! I’m writing this blog on Sunday, 10 March. Some may call it the calm before the storm – as I walk past our allocated study rooms – which we so lovingly call ‘The Dungeons’ – behind closed doors, I see the silhouettes of my classmates, heads down, buried in their work, as they power through the final stretch toward completing their MBA startup projects.
We’re near the end of Module 1, the one module to rule them all – and as I look back, I’m not sure how I managed to submit everything on time. Is there something in the water here that makes you more punctual? More Swiss?
Teamwork is such a buzzword, and we often associate it with work, but life as an IMD MBA makes you fluent in it. There’s group work with peers, but there’s also the teamwork I see with my roommates – we cook for each other, quiz each other for upcoming tests, proofread each other’s assignments, and wrap ourselves in blankets on the couch in our living room, our laptop keyboards clicking in unison as we collectively type our essays. We celebrated International Women’s Day last Friday, and as I left the celebratory event, I asked myself what I was most grateful for on that day – among other things, I’m incredibly grateful for the female friendships I have found in the program, especially those with my flatmates. I’m grateful for their kindness, their support, and, most importantly, their humor.
Finally, despite the million things we have to do, I’m always amazed when we come together to make time for the things we love – whether that’s rehearsing together for the MBA band, taking a walk in the park, cooking a nice meal, or indulging in a day trip to do something nice for ourselves to get us through the more grueling times.
And finally, on the days when I can’t handle any more teamwork, there are always the crisp, ice-capped mountains I see from the balcony each morning I walk to class, the warm hue of the sun setting over Lac Léman. It gives me perspective and reminds me that life is more than just going through the motions. My leadership development journey has left me with more questions than answers. What does success look like to me? I don’t yet know; only time will tell. Until then, I’m staying open and curious, excited for the moment when inspiration strikes next.
Classmates/friends in the photos: Mizuka Murata, Nadia Osman, Gunjan Mittal, Divya Srinivasan, Shawheen Yazdani, Kumi Hiramitsu, Martin Milotič, Diego Nieto, Susheel Kumar Variyath
